Sometimes our food shows are as bad as our most jingoistic sport programs, with fashionably dressed foodies instead of pot-bellied men in daggy blazers banging on about the unique wonders of the food we grow and eat and the multicultural restaurants to be found in any Australian city where an embarrassment of riches awaits the most demanding epicurean. Yeah, yeah. Ever eaten summer fruit in Spain, tomatoes in France or just about anything served up on a plate or wrapped in paper anywhere in Greece?

Undeterred by the glut of cheery and picturesque TV shows that have already travelled a well-worn path to the Margaret River, Melbourne's laneways and Sydney's Berowra Waters, MasterChef winner Adam Liaw, actress Renee Lim (East West 101) and mathematician Lily Serna (Letters and Numbers) set out in search of Australian "food heroes".

Our view

A deficit of cash is the main reason that SBS locally commissions food shows rather than more costly dramas and documentaries. But there also appears to be a deficit of imagination in the magazine-style format of this by-the-numbers show with its elevator-music soundtrack and unoriginal subject matter.

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We meet a Margaret River winegrower who now farms a rare breed of sheep, get the lowdown on the techniques of hot and cold smoking, cruise the Berowra Waters with upmarket food retailer Simon Johnson where we visit a restaurant that works wonders with olive oil, and shop at a farmers market in Fremantle.

Sadly, most of this is indistinguishable from a dozen of other subscription-TV shows that you'd probably watch for several minutes before trying your luck elsewhere. Apart from three non-Anglo hosts, and in sharp contrast to other SBS food shows, it barely speaks to the multicultural audience at home. Ultimately, it resembles an advertorial sponsored by a local tourist agency.

In a sentence

A blandly inoffensive schedule-filler coming soon to an in-flight channel.

Best bit

That's easy; Adam Liaw, who is an effortless TV presenter and speaks with authority, enthusiasm and a lack of pretention which usually creeps into these shows.

Worst bit

Renee Lim repeating "tarte Tatin" as if it was as difficult as naming an Icelandic volcano.

Worth watching again?

Not really. Food and travel shows are a dime a dozen and there's nothing distinctive enough here to keep one coming back. Adam Liaw should have been the star attraction, though inexplicably he spends most of this episode on the bench.